The Moonhorse
by Suryallee
Summary: This is AU. After a few years of peace something seems to bring back some of the Dead of old times. Why how and for what purpose, no one knows. Only that some cause trouble. Haleth is a Young Rohirim who is Thrown in the midst of the chaos that ensures.
1. Chapter 1

The Moonhorse

Dissclaimer;  
>I do not want or plan to make any kind of profit or money with this story! Nor do I plan to do so in the future. The Works of J.R., like the lord of the rings and such belongs not to me in any way or form nor do I put any claim to them or the rights on them. They belong sorely to their rightful owners!<p>

*First I would like to point out some things here to all who are reading this, I Am Native German. That means my grasp on English isn't the best sometimes and I only write for my own fun and that of any who, who likes to read fan fiction and not for those who seem to make a living of it to harass others into no writing anymore at all…from those we have enough already, thank you. I, myself was a victim of those too and due my illness of my eyes and my low self-esteem I quit several times to write my stories. Please don't make me do so again.

I did write this on a whim. As I often do. When I get an idea stuck in my head, I have to write it down, I hope others enjoy my little insanity too and ask humbly to overlook my errors. I am pretty sure there are allots of them. Since I have no Beta for this, please be kind when reading it. Also I am fairly sure I got some of the names wrong if so, the shame is on me.

Suryallee

**The Moonhorse**

The voice of the old story teller filled the hall of Meduselt out...**  
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"The moon has its own horse, did you younglings know that? The mare is running along with it on the moons route over the heavens between the stars each night. Neighing its head and trotting sometimes after but running mostly to the fore of the moons path over the heavens. It is a Meara's, one of the old horses of that we Rohirim do ride the descendants of all over the plains of Rohan until today.

In our legends of old, the first one born to the first couple of them was a little mare. Pale as snow and shining with a gentle silver light from the moment of her birth onwards and her name spells Moon-tide in other languages. Other as her later born brethren she always did run after the moon when it hung high in the sky. The Meara was only content when she could follow it over the land. Well knowing that the moon was too far away and that the mare could never reach it. She followed it nether less.

Over the course of years she came to the very ocean that separates the land of Arda from Valinor to find out that she could go no further after her beloved round object in the sky. For a year and a day she did run along the shorelines to search a way over the vast body water and found none. And after the time she jumped into the water and simply swam after the moon. After two days she grew almost too tired to go on and Ulmo the Valar Lord of the waters took pity into the beautiful horse and gave it fins to swim and gills live in the water so she could follow the moon a little longer. The mare enjoyed her stay in the water for a time but then to Ulmo's and all of his water creatures sadness the old call got to her again and she finally stepped on the lands of the fair beings, Valinor.

To follow from now on her old obsession all over the beautiful and us to second born forbidden lands of the first born and the Lords of the West. For a while the mare was content again to just run after the moon.

Varda and the other lords and ladies of the west saw this with sorrow. They did want to keep the Meara with them, so great was the mares beauty and grace that no horse in Arda or beyond could match. But whatever stallion of the Elvin Horses they brought to her, none could hold her interest for longer as a day. Not even the stallion of the great hunter managed it to keep her longer from her track than a few days. The most others she did not even give a glance. Aye, proud are the horses of the kings and she, was no exception of that rule.

And stubborn are they, what is too true too, as the Valar lords had to learn it too in those days, much to their chagrin. Tulkas finally voiced out what all of them thought and said, 'If the horses are already this unruly, how headstrong then will the people of the horse-lords be when they come into the great story of our world?' His words should ring true and to this day our people are often called stubborn, valiant and single-minded from others, just like the pale horse had been who followed the moon to Valinor in her persistence. Even from the people of the white city, Gondor who are our allies in this dark world we are called thus.

One day the mare finally reached the end of even the holy lands of the west and when she could go no further she simply jumped off of the cliffs there out into the vast void that is the sky that holds the stars and the ships of the sun and the moon and the evening star. And the one that is above all else took pity in her like Ulmo before him and gave her white wings so she could follow Ithil and his ship through the heavens each night.

And so, you children, it came to be that one of the Mearas of old runs over the heavens with the moon. Eternally it is his companion on the way over the heavens. And she is fully content to have it this way.

To this very day it is told that some of us followed her on her path. That sometimes one of our own is struck by a bold of love or simply obsession so deeply that they follow their own moon to wherever it is leading them and if they have to cross the eternal ice or the ocean to reach them. Nothing will stop those doomed souls until they reach their goal, besides death."

One of the children surrounding the old storyteller on Théoden's court in Meduselt was a young boy going by the name of Haleth. Another beside him was his cousin Eofine with his baby sister Ealfreda in his lap, suckling on her tiny thumb. Both of their fathers where Marshals of the great king of Rohan and sworn brothers through the marriage of Eofine's mother to his father who was the sister of Hama, Haleth's father. The blond haired boy, Eofine with his sparkling blue eyes was a year older as the more silent red haired boy next to him. But since the two had met while being no more than baby's they had been inseparable to any who that had tried. All of the adults were certain that they would be shield brothers when grown and smiled at the two boys with fondness and a certain pride. The two were loved by all of them.

Next to the red head the blond moved when his mother came over and took the baby out of his lap. Protesting a little Eofine finally relented and gave Freda to his mother with a pout. He was known to care a great deal for his new baby sister and carried her proudly around each day with him, much to the chagrin of the adults who loved the little trouble causer all the more for it. Even being just seven right now, Eofine had already gained a reputation to be a prankster. And many feared to be the receiving end of one of his pranks since he had reached the age of fife.

Almost always at his side, Haleth was often the only one who could stop him from getting into trouble. Although many suspected, rightfully, that the most of the duos sometimes devilish pranks had been hatched inside of the, oh so silent and solemn child. It was just…that more often than not, the adults could not provide enough evidence to trace the pranks back to the youth or that he had been involved in them in the first place! And Haleth, he merely smiled slightly and hid his thoughts behind a veil of thick red hair that was so rare under the mostly blond haired Rohirim. Even his parents often told that they could not fathom what was going through the youngsters cunning mind all of the time.

He was already known for it to be smart, cunning and sometimes to be a little bit too wise for his six years of age. Many wondered and mused in silence what was going on inside of his mind and what he would become when grown. A conciliator, of that strangely no one had a doubt. Like his always calm mother was it already, or a great Marshall of the king or his son Theodreth, like Haleth's father.

He had the thick unruly hair of his father and the brown almost golden eyes of his mother. Harvest Moon eyes called Haleth's people this particular shade of brown that was bordering on gold when the owner got the mood, be it anger or happiness. When they had these emotions, they shone often almost golden, like the yellow moon in the harvest month in the end of the summer. Add to it the strange blood red shade that his hair held when the light was shining right he made a stunning sight already just being a child as he was it now.

The ladies of the king's court made already bets on the golden and the fire child as they had duped Eofine and Haleth secretly under themselves of how many hearts they would break when grown up and often giggled like young maids then. Not even Hama had this shade of red being a slight red head himself and often wondered about it from who his only heir had gotten it from. Sure his house was called the fire house of Rohan but never in the history that he could remember one of the members of his house had been born with such a fiery red hair. The tall and broad shouldered man shook his own mob of wild hair and finally uncrossed his arms to scoop the tired looking boy up in them to put him to his bed in the halls of Meduselt.

He cast one look of growing concern at his king on his way out who looked more tired each day. His wife fell in step with him almost immediately and both shared an alarmed look. Theoden was behaving oddly and stranger with each passing day. In the late he only trusted what Hama and his wife had duped the Snake in his counsels and no longer the aging king searched for the wisdom of his wife. Hama saw this all with growing trepidation, he was sure that something fishy was going on but couldn't put a finger to it what it could be, darn it!

Looking down at the child in his arms he noticed startled that the boy seemed wide awake and not half asleep as he had thought. Haleth was staring at the dark man covertly hidden from Hama's tunic that whispered urgently to the lately so old looking king with much too old looking eyes for a six winter old child to have.

"What ails you, Haleth?" Hama couldn't help to ask. The look in his son's eyes was too strange to miss. The boy took his time with the answer but his father and mother were used to this. Haleth always took time with his words, never he said something without to think it over first. When he suddenly looked up, the child's eyes where a haze of gold and brown colors. His child voice seemed to come from far, far away.

"He poisons his mind and soul my father." Was all that he told the now bewildered Marshal of the Riddermark. Even his wife looked troubled down at her son. "What? You cannot say such, my son! We may not like Grima Worm-tongue but it is not right to say such without any facts to confirm such words." The youngster just nodded. "I know my father, but you misunderstood me. I didn't mean Grima, he is only a means to an end for the fallen one who is hiding in the shadows and pretends to be white in the light of the day. Where the truly white one is still running around cloaked in grey whilst the truly dark one is laughing at the folly of them all sitting on his throne of fire and tears …" Suddenly the too old looking eyes fixed his father's now horrified gaze with a worried look inside his eyes. Grabbing Hama's over tunic the boy heaved himself up until he could see in the eyes of the man that was his beloved father.

"Promise to me, father! Promise it to me that when the grey one comes one day that you will leave his wood with him when he asks you to enter the king's hall? Please?"

At that Hama could only whisper a yes although he was wondering whilst holding his child's suddenly limp body as near as he possible could, who the hell Haleth meant with his cryptic words. Grey? Black? White? Hama's head did hurt but it was known to him that his and his wife's line sometimes sported seers in them. And as it looked, his son had this curse running in his blood. With one last look back into the hall Hama took his son and wife with him out of it and away from what he would call secretly the snake for the rest of his life. Already thinking of a plausible excuse to the why he would remove them and his brother in law children from the court.

They where no longer safe here with Grima at the side of the king, poisoning his kings mind. Hama cursed powerfully once his son was in bed with his wife and two trusted warriors at their doors. And went to find his brother in law to give him the *News*. Not once the thought crossed Hama's mind to not put trust his child's words of warning. He had seen enough in his life and knew too much to do so. He wasn't keen to talk to his sister's husband with his fiery temper but would try it none the less. But one thing was as certain as that the Elven lady lived in the golden Forrest; Haleth would leave this place first thing in the morning. And if he had his will, Eofine, his sister and Hama's sister would do so too.

All the way down the hall his child's words hunted his steps. Whilst cursing his inability to do something, anything to prevent the darkness that he could deduce would be coming over them all soon.

'Promise to me Father!'

And so, Hama did.

For the next eight years Hama hid his family away from the greedy eyes of the snake whilst doing his best to protect the kings only son and his nephew and nice from the slimy tongued devil in their midst. Often not succeeding in his tries much to his everlasting sadness, it tore at Hama every time he saw the haunted looks in Eowyn's and Eomers eyes.

Then one day, when Eomer, nephew to Theoden, king of the Riddermark brought home the heavily injured body of the only heir of the king on his own horse, Hama knew it somehow that it was almost time. Two days later the well known frame of the wizard named Gandalf entered the doors to the city with three others on horseback and requested entrance to the king's hall for himself, and ranger, an Elf and a Dwarf. On word of Grima, Hama was ordered to remove every possible weapon before giving entrance when he spied the wooden staff of the old man and a flash of white clothing under the always grey cloak.

It hit him suddenly what his son had meant back then with his cryptic description of the white one clothed in grey and he held his given oath to his child and let the old man have his staff with him when he entered the hall.

The child's eyes were it what caught Aragorn's interest when he left the Hornburg's weapons chambers in his rage. He and another youngster who the man identified as Eofine, the boy that had come with his sister to Meduselt to warn for the invading Ork in the west fold was with the red-haired youngster and both couldn't be older as maybe thirteen or fourteen in age. He had seen the boy before, together with the now dead Marshall Hama who was sorely missed here now. From the looks of it, he had to be his son, Aragorn heaved a heavy sigh and went over to the boy's who would fight for the first time tonight in their young life's with near to no hope for survival.

Later Aragorn made certain that both boys would be placed on the tower over the only entrance to the keep. Both had obviously been schooled to wield a bow at their young age, from Hama and his shield brother he had no doubt and with a last prayer to the Vala for them all he focused on the approaching army of Uruk-Hai with the elves that had come to aid them under the command of the elven Lord Haldir O'Lorien.

Just before all went down to the drain, Haleth's mind replayed the story of the Moonhorse in his mind that he and his cousin had heard so long ago. Then everything fell away in a haze of red and sounds that made the blood freeze. Later the boy could never tell how he had survived the first onslaught, neither could his cousin. Both had survived relatively unharmed. If one did not count the now missing half of the left hand of his cousin or the wound on the left side of Haleth's face from a hit he couldn't remember getting. And how he had ended up under a load of stones from the former wall around the keep he also couldn't tell. Somehow he and Eofine had tumbled down from the tower, accidentally thrown or simply lost footing, he would never able to recall. Both had survived the fall only to end up between elvish warriors to then being thrown away again from the force of the explosion when the beasts had practically bombed the keep.

When he had gotten back his bearings, he had seen an Uruk gnaw away on the hand of his unconscious cousin and had slain the beast with his father's sword first and then he had moved Eofine's body into the hole under the former wall he had lain in. Over the course of the next minutes and hours he had bound the wound and then he and his cousin after waking up had begun to systematically move the bodies of surviving elves from the outside to the inside of their little cave under the crumbled wall of the keep. Sometimes succeeding, sometimes not in their now constant tuck war with the ugly beasts about each life they could safe.

In the meanwhile the elves who could still wield weapons had held back the Uruk's as best as they could to aid the two boys. When Eomer finally arrived with his Eored, they had altogether rescued more or less around twenty of the tall and ethereal beings including the body of an elf with an unusual red cloak whose wound was fatal to say at best. Haleth did not think at first that he was still breathing even when he got him literally thrown before his feed from one of the Uruk's in its haste to kill another elf who got away a minute later by sheer luck alone and helped the boy to get the heavy armored warrior into the little hideout of theirs.

It was there that Eofine noted a faint breathing that barely moved the breastplate of the elf. The elf who had heard his words went into a flurry of movements then and Haleth noted that the two looked much alike. He wondered for a second if they where related but then he simply helped him as best he could whilst not believing that the injured one would survive before he went out again to find another survivor.

Eofine's hand had been half chewed off from the fell beast and the rest had to be taken off almost too in the end. But his cousin was lucky and could keep two fingers and the thumb in the end. The rest had been thorn off that badly that he would never wield a bow again with it that much was certain. And since Eofine was left handed to begin with, he now had much trouble to face in the future but the boy did it with a lopsided grin and the persistence that had always made him, him.

Haleth, the healers found out by inspecting his wounds later, had a deep cut on his forehead that had even scratched at the bone of his skull. He also sported several stab and hit wounds, none too serious, all over his body that would scar too. One stab wound had nearly gone through his left leg but in the haze of the fight he had simply bound and then ignored it and gone on. That one had caused him a big blood loss but since he was young and strong he did survive it without a trouble and at the day after the fight he was sent to take a rest together with Eofine and told to drink as much water or tea as he could.

Aragorn was told later from the surviving elves of the two man children who had rescued so many of them and of the red head who had kept so eerily level headed through the entire scenario.

When he went to thank them for rescuing the elves and his best friend that he had thought to be dead, Aragorn found both boys and a golden haired girl, cuddled together in a corner of the keep. All sleeping soundly whilst the children were holding onto each other like they were the only lifelines that they had in their lives now. He had not the heart to wake them and lay his mantle instead over the trio to keep at least a little of the nights chill and rain from them.

Besides of the man the elf called Legolas stood silent and watched this with hunted looking eyes.

The elf still couldn't believe what Rumil, the younger brother of Haldir had told them about the children. Thanks to the boys, their friend had a vague chance to survive this ordeal. Looking left and right Legolas finally asked the question that also nagged on Aragorn's mind.

"Where is the family of these children, Aragorn?" He had earlier seen Eofine and the girl find their mother back, now he wondered where the tall woman was.

Later the night Aragorn learned a gruesome truth. She had been slain when some of the Uruk's had found a way into the caves that held the woman and children, defending her daughter. What was left was an uncle to the children who seemingly cared not much about them, much to his and Legolas anger. With Hama slain from a warg , Haleth's mother killed by an Ork attack years ago, Eofine's and Ealfreda's father killed in the West Fold defending their families and now their mother slain in the caves, the three turned out to be orphans.

When the other elf survivors asked the fuming Legolas later what was amiss they were shocked to learn this.

A many of the small number of them owned their life to the two children and were not keen to learn that they would now have to fend for themselves. Neither was king Theoden when he learned of this and he promptly assigned Gambling to be their keeper for the time being. Who had been a great friend to the children's fathers and agreed whole heartily to take care of them, having no family alive of his own after the war too.

When the elves departed a week later, Haleth looked after the sorry reminds of the stunning army that had come to their aid. Next to him stood a befuddled Eofine with an equally baffled expression on his handsome face. Both held presents of the proud warriors, given to them this very morning before the elves had departed for the golden wood. To Eofine they had given one of the short swords of one of their now dead brethren and Haleth held a white bow in both hands tightly clutched to his chest. Given to him by the very warrior he had rightfully assumed to be the brother of the injured one, together with a full quiver of white fletched arrows made of elven hands. Little Ealfreda held a dagger and a pedant in her small hands. She had found them between the wreckage of the keep wall and wanted to give them back. Instead she was told to keep both. And so she did.

The elves had loved the little golden one as they had called the little girl that had helped in the healing wing. Always bringing water or tea to the injured shiny beings with a smile on her little face and soft pats of her little hands when someone needed a soothing touch. One night she even fell asleep next to an injured elven warrior in the midst of changing the wet cloth over his feverish brow.

They had adored the little girl.

Gamling looked at the trio with a smile on his face. These children had managed more in their short lives as many of the men he knew of. It saddened him that they had no parents now anymore but he was certain that they would manage to overcome their grief with time. All three were strong and resilient and his best friend's offspring and that alone told to him volumes about their capacity for survival and recovery.

He left them gather themselves in their own time and went to his king to await his future orders.

Then the fight about Gondor came and went and Eomer became king of the Riddermark in the passing of Theoden on the fields. Eowyn slay the Witch king of Angmar the dark Lord was killed from two courageous Hobbits and Aragorn was crowned and Arwen became his queen. The most elves left middle earth a year after the wedding. And for a few years all was well.

Only…it was not.

In Meduselt Haleth was tormented by nightmares about a figure cloaked in dark mist over the course of the following four years. Always it was bend over an ominous book that glowed sickly green written in a language Haleth did not recognize but made his eyes almost bleed to even look at it. In his waking time he hurriedly wrote down what he had seen, even if it made his eyes shed tears of blood when he tried to paint down the signs he had seen. When he told Eomer about his dreams the new king had looked intensely at the red haired boy with the abnormally red colored eyes and had gulped, well knowing about his vision from the past, told to Eomer by the boy's father. He had not liked what Haleth had told him nor how he looked and chosen to keep it to him for the time being.

But in his mind, Eomer kept the warning about evil rising very much alive.

He later told this to Aragorn by the first opportunity he had and both agreed to keep a rigid watch about this and so the years went into the land.

When Haleth turned nineteen years old his mentor had to move to Gondor for a year and Eofine, his sister and Haleth were left in the care of their uncle against Gambling's will. All three hated the man. He had not waited long to greedily reach out his hands for the title of Haleth's house and his parents riches, nor that of Eofine or his sister. But Eomer had put a fast stop to this and since then the man had tried a several times to covertly kill the boy's to get his hands on their fortunes that would rightfully theirs when all three turned twenty one.

And since he was their uncle he could make decisions of their handling too to some extend and did so, most of the time hiding his true intentions from Gamling and everyone else effectively.

He was also a greedy thief.

The children knew this all but could prove it not enough to warrant their uncle getting in custody of the king. They bid their time and tried to survive. Since Aechtolic didn't manage to get the son of Hama killed he instead set out to defile the boy now young man. When he rode out with his own sons the next time to one of his hidden raids, he ordered Haleth to accompany them against his will. He threatened Haleth to lay his hands on Ealfreda whom the boy loved like a sister if he did not do so. The youth obeyed whilst gnashing his teeth in silence. He could wait for his uncle to slip and besides he had been curios for a while now where exactly his uncle got his gold from in the late anyways.

As it turned out, his uncle and his brood and followers had taken to raid the former elven realm of the golden wood.

Since the elves had departed these shores, he had gone there a several times and had stolen what the elves had left to fade with their beloved wood and former homes. Haleth was disgusted and sick from seeing this and did not touch one item or thing that they tried to handle over to him. He still had the bow, now concealed under wraps and felt simply sick whilst watching the thieves defile the former silent place, not caring what they destroyed in their wake. Sure, a part of his brain told him that this all belonged to no one anymore but still he felt it was wrong what his uncle did here, to Haleth it felt like they were robbing a grave of the kings of old.

He had become one of the very best archers of the Riddermark ever with the passing years, winning prices in other realms even with his accurate shoots.

He had also become a good swordsman. He introduced a new weapon to the riders of his homeland. When younger his father and he had stumbled over a southlander one day the man had an odd weapon with him, one his father had seen them use before and he had offered the strangely honorable dark-skinned man a place in return to teach his son how to wield it when he had noted Haleth's interest in it. He had never rued his decision since Haleth turned out to be fairly good with it and the southlander had become attached to his son. So much so that he taught Haleth a lots more as the use of the weapon only. The young man had always trained with him through the years and had gained a reputation to be a master with this type of sword with the years.

Basically it was a long metal staff slightly curved with a blade on both ends. Some of the southlanders even had deadly thorns dipped into poison on them and Haleth had learned from his mentor to wield them all with the years. He wore it always with him and fought almost exclusively with it in fights or ambushes of Ork's that still happened from time to time.

Now the double-bladed sword rescued his life in the middle of the formerly golden wood when his uncle attacked him in his anger. And Haleth's nimble feed helped the youth to bring distance between him and his crazed family members when they tried to kill him to keep him from spilling their secret to the king.

Currently he was hiding from the frantic search party of his uncle under the thick root of one of the Mallorn trees left inside the heart of the old Forrest. Panting slightly Haleth tried to be as silent as one could be and finally darted over to another root to escape from the nearer getting pursuers. He didn't want to commit a kin slaying! And even hating his uncle and cousins he would have to do just that if he had to defend himself from them. So he chooses to hide and wait them out. They had even killed his old stallion!

Fat tears run down the young man's face, he felt horrible.

The horse had bought him time, attacking his attackers when they had attack him. It was unheard off that a Rohirim horse attacked a Rohirim in history! And jet the old stallion had done so and that with vigor already taking down two of his uncle's men before they could kill it. It only proofed what Haleth had known already; they had fallen from grace more deeply as he had thought and he wept for their souls and more so of that of the valiant horse and went to search for a good hiding spot.

He finally found one in a secluded clearing, following the strange whispers of the old towering trees that seem to weep with him. In the very middle of it was a small spring, almost overgrown now from the wilds and a stone that build out a natural basin on its top. The water inside of it looked almost as clear as a mirror to the curios young Rohirim. One a leaf or two drifted over the clear surface of the too still water and Haleth could have sworn he saw swirls inside of the water and that he heard faint laughter coming from the basin.

Looking around, startled he saw no one. Still he couldn't shake the feeling of strong and old magic in the air off of his shoulders. Gulping he dared it and stepped down delicate steps until he reached the bottom of the natural clearing to look for a hiding spot for the night. He found one just in the nick of time, right under the basin in the stone foundation it was sat upon. Haleth pressed his body into the breach that must have occurred after the elves had left. In here it was dark and the space narrow but he managed to hide completely from view whilst vines covered the entrance. Not a moment to early, right after he had hidden inside his uncle run down the steps in his fury to not find Haleth and looked around the small clearing. Somehow the youth felt like his uncle and his men where defiling this place and another tear run down his checks.

How they did not see him was a miracle to Haleth!

More than one time he had been sure that he was discovered but a voice, faint and strange had told him to keep still, to not move a muscle to be still and most importantly to not leave the narrow space and all would be well. Haleth had listened to it, had done its bidding and not even moved when Ungalinth, his uncles second had looked right at him without to see Haleth at all.

Half an hour later all were gone from the clearing and silence filled the place once more.

He stayed in there until the moon and his pale horse rode over the heavens again. Only then he dared to leave the narrow hole in the stone on unsteady feed from the long crouching inside. Looking at the sky in all its splendor Haleth was reminded on the old myth again and he gave the first timid smile of the entire day up to greet the pale horse in the sky with it.

For a moment he could almost see it and the youth was feeling better because of it.

Suddenly there was the voice again in his mind. The very one he had chalked up to his imagination or a leftover magic of the elves. It told him to look into a mirror? What mirror? Haleth scratched his head in confusion until his golden eyes fell onto the basin again. He now noted that it wasn't a part of the under stone part as he first had thought it to be, more it looked like having lain upon the pillar. The water still looked like a mirror to the youth and so he shrugged after a minute and did what he was told. Inside of the depths lay a small golden band. With a white stone inlaid into a leaf design that reminded Haleth on the leaves of the Mallorn trees around him.

Curios he wondered again why the others had failed to see it and he let it stay where it was.

Inside of the water basin, right in the very middle of it the ring lay. He had no need for things that didn't belong to him. On nearer observation he saw that it wasn't exactly gold as he had first thought but rare mithril instead the ring was made of! Why wanted the voice him to see it? Looking around oddly he shrugged again, wondering if it could be one of the famous elven rings. As if on cue the surface of the water suddenly gave way and instead into water he suddenly looked into a strange vision.

Haleth could see a land he had never seen or been told of before rush at him like it was coming to meet him.

Deep emerald green Forrest's as far as the eye could see covered an enormous landscape. Mountains with snowcaps, beautiful beyond any words could tell run out into beautiful looking dales that held sometimes great cities and sometimes only a few houses. And elves. Everywhere were elves! Haleth wished shortly his cousins Eofine and Freda could see this too. Suddenly his strange flight seem to come to an end in a great haven, made of white and grey and bluish stones with exquisite ships that looked like the legendary swan ships out of tales of old. There was a busy coming and going from what he could tell and he slowly wondered to what this vision was leading…somehow he felt that he shouldn't see all of this at all.

Suddenly it all seems to spiral down to four elves standing near a small river that run into another natural basin to then run out on the other side to end into the ocean near the ships. Three were male, as far Haleth could tell and one a female, beautiful beyond any imagination all of them, with a light in their eyes that no human held inside of theirs. And all were looking inside of the basin and at him as it looked to the startled youth.

A question was in the eyes of the female and then in Haleth's mind.

Why hadn't he touched the ring?

It wasn't his, he heard his soul answer, what felt utterly strange and alien to Haleth who still tried to come to grips with this all. He was certain his confusion must have shown in his face. He noted that he knew two of the male elves.

How? Seemed the voice to ask and unbitten his memories tumbled backwards to Helms Deep to the fight, the elf in the armor and his Brother whose names Haleth had never learned. He was certain she had seen his memories.

The one who had been injured asked the female a question Haleth couldn't hear and she seemed to answer it without him none the wiser in high elvish. He had a voice that the boy liked instantly. The other one of the duo looked at him wonderingly with a slight smile on the handsome face also saying something in their musical language that Haleth didn't understood.

So he shrugged simply his shoulders to show that he didn't understood what seem to make the elf sad for a second. The third one held age and wisdom in his eyes. Tall was he even taller than the others, like a tree and his hair was like spun silver, Haleth was reminded on the stories of the former lord of these woods Celeborn had been his name as he remembered suddenly.

Celeborn of Doriath.

Suddenly the implications of what he was seeing and what was currently happening hit Haleth hard and with sheer willpower he tried to get away from the mirror of water that did show him things he shouldn't see!

That got the attention of the female elf that he now identified as Galadriel, back to him instantly. Seeing his fright she smiled reassuringly at him. He needed not to fear, she told him somehow. That she did now know thanks to him what was going on in her former home and that she did put no blame on him for this too. That she knew also that he hadn't wanted to be there at all and that he had not laid a single finger on their things left there. That she felt that Haleth was an honorable soul in need and wouldn't he do her a favor maybe in return?

Now he was confused even more…what could he possibly do for her?

She looked a long while just into his eyes before her voice sounded again in his mind. There was the ring he had seen she told him, Haleth nodded and assured her immediately that he would tell no one about it. It made her smile. She told him that she had never understood why she should leave it there before but that she now did… but this all did not concern him and Haleth just nodded. His quick mind already turning gears to make sense of her cryptic words at the same time what seem to amuse the elf lady much.

A quick mind he had she told him and her musical laughter filled the young man's soul for a while and made him smile softly back at her what seem to make her smile even wider back at the human youth. That was part of her wish she told him, not to tell anyone and he nodded. That wish was easy to comply. This was not something that anyone had to know about. After all, the ring belonged to her and not to a human being. Another two elf's joined the others silently. One had jet black hair, the build of a warrior or a smith and eyes like fire. He was nodding sagely at Haleth's reply to Galadriel as if he had heard him too while the other one was pale, tall and golden as the two he had seen at Helms deep and looked like them, a third brother he mused? But Haleth shook it off, not his business.

Her voice brought his attention back to Galadriel.

Yes she told him the ring wasn't made for his people. The other part of her wish was to please go back into the hole he had hidden inside and to take the package hidden in the earth there and to bring it to her granddaughter, Arwen and her husband in Gondor as fast as he could if he would? And that she was fully aware that she was asking much of him.

At that Haleth had not to think for long, he assured the elven lady that he would do so immediately with a smile.

Already he thought about it from where he could get a new horse to do so as quickly as he could. Suddenly her voice sounded stern and urgent. Under no circumstances, she warned him, he should look at what was inside the pack! She looked sternly at him, it was too dangerous for him and that only Aragorn could handle it, Haleth gulped and swore in silence to never ever open that cursed package then.

With that she released him from the spell that held him but not before the youngest looking from all the elves had told her something what made her smile and repeat it to Haleth in a tongue he could understand.

If he still had the bow she asked and the youth nodded with a genuine smile, yes, he still had it and he showed it to them, warded as it was for protection from greedy eyes. Good she told him and that he should keep it with him, that he would need it in the future to come. If he would keep another thing out of his uncle's greedy hands for the one that she called Rumil? Haleth nodded. Sure he told her. Aware of it how odd the one called Rumil looked at him in the meanwhile the others seemed to tease him in their tongue.

An armlet, she told Haleth, one like the one he was wearing. She pointed at the one Rumil wore on his bare left biceps and Haleth nodded in slight confusion. It looked like made of silver but he wasn't sure. She told him where he would find it and the connection dissolved. He was back in the clearing again, still under the nights moonbeams and his horse that seem to wink at him from out of the sky.

Scratching his head Haleth finally shrugged and bend to search for the pack.

Later he searched at the designed spot for the hidden armlet and found it inside a small wooden box with elvish runes carved onto it. Not knowing what else to do to hide it he put it on his own right shoulder and shrugged his leather tunic back over it to hide it from view. At that moment a strange vision came over the boy. He saw the elf now sitting on the deck of one of the ships from before. He was smiling at the boy with a strange fire in his blue eyes. The armlet on the elf's arm gleamed shortly in the moon's light.

Whilst he unexpectedly blacked out, Haleth heard him whisper faintly in his overwrought mind.

*We will take it all back, human child. We will take it all back and this time we will keep it, you will see. And even more, as it was promised to us from the Lords of the West. The Dark one will pay, as will all others too who aided him for their crimes against the Valar and the One themselves!*

**End of part one.**


	2. Chapter 2

The Moonhorse

Part two

When the youth came to again, night was just falling and his uncle was nowhere to be seen.

Indeed all signs indicated that the other party had left already in haste. Groaning Haleth tried to make a sense out of his muddled thoughts whilst he rubbed his face in a tired manner. What had this last vision of him meant to tell him? Since his very childhood, since he could think, he had been often a recipient of those strange visions in the past. The dreams or sometimes waking sights often disturbed the young human when he was still growing up.

There had to be a certain peace in not knowing what others around you thought truly about you, he had figured out a long time ago. Often he envied others who did know nothing and simply lived from day to day manner. Shaking his unruly mob of hair, the lad finally stood and then bends to pick up his meager belongings.

And that vision first, the one in the water mirror…he wondered if that had been the famous mirror of the lady of the golden wood and was almost certain that it had to be it.

Never less, he had given his word to the vision and as he had told he would do. His father had installed this kind of honor inside the youth together with his wife a long time ago. Anything less would be disgraceful to his forefathers. Another sigh leaved the lips and the young man remembered the armlet. Crumpling up his tunic he tried to take it off again, only to find that it seem to have stuck itself to his arm.

Shrugging it off for the now, since more pressing matters were on his mind, Haleth turned the sleeve down again and fastened the button without giving it a moment of thought. He had to find himself a horse. Walking slowly out of the Forrest, Haleth counted calmly down inside his mind what he had to do. First and foremost, inform king Eomer of his Uncles raids of the golden wood and what he had seen and to do. Secondly, bring the parcel to lord Aragorn and his lady.

And last but not least, his look shortly fell on the covered armlet, get rid of this strange piece of elven magic and never touch it again!

Breaking out into a run, the young man run into the direction of the next Rohirim settlement he knew of, laying on a small river a slow day's ride from the golden wood. For Haleth that meant he would have to make the way in a long day's run in hope to get there by nightfall. With a short curse the youth set off.

Eofine watched in the meantime his sister stirring herbs in a pot over the ever present fire of the herd in the healer's wing of Meduselt.

He was suspended from the daily training for the day since he had shown signs of having one of the often occurring sicknesses under the humans. Rashes and blisters all over his hands, parts of his back and on other most unfortunate and tender places on his body currently made his life a living hell! The constant urge to scratch was only diverted by the sharp glances of his sister who watched him like a hawk all the time. She was now nearly a full taught healer and no longer an apprentice only.

More often than not a sharp "EOFINE!" had barely stopped the tall blond from scratching them open. Scowling at his sisters back the young man tried to distract himself from the constant urge by spelling the names of all he saw backwards in his mind. As he often did in meetings too…they all were too boring for the young warrior and this was one of his secret ways to amuse himself then…next to imagine the people in various indecent poses all of the time. The latter often lead to his strange bouts of humor in the middle of a solemn meeting and had on more than one occasion lead to an extra shift for him in the past.

But not today, and neither the next three and more if his sister was right, he groused.

As it looked he had gotten lucky…he had a children's sickness, oh joy! Measles! From all the banes of human kind it had to be Measles! A slight fever accompanied his very day since morning too and he had the suspicion that he wouldn't be outside for a while if Freda and the healers had their will. Eofine hated it to be inside for longer as necessary and again a sharp "Eofine! Stop Scratching! You will make it worse you fool." stopped him barely from doing so on his left arm…since when had they emigrated there he wondered as he looked down on his forearm and saw new spots of trouble blooming there.

Currently, the tall and blond youth hated his life.

Eomer watched him with mirth in the eyes from out of a safe distance.

Eofine, Haleth and Ealfreda had always been very healthy children, almost never catching one of the usual sicknesses that accompanied the human life all the time. Especially Eofine was more resilient than anything known under the Rohirim before. The king chuckled softly. And now he had caught measles from all sicknesses possible. How he had gotten it was no miracle to Eomer king of the mark. The golden sunshine had played the goof for the sick children in the healer's wing and most likely had so caught over the last days this bout of the measles of this year too.

Normally that was a bad thing happen to an almost adult, since then the sickness often took a worse course than usually with children but in Eofine's case he seem to have caught a lighter form of the measles as normal. His own wife was a testimony how dangerous it could be for an adult. She lay with high fever down with them the last time the measles had swapped over the mark and needed a long time to recover from them fully.

Now he watched Eofine try to covertly scratch on one place whilst his sister wasn't looking but again she caught him and reprimanded her stubborn brother to leave the itching spots alone. He couldn't help it, Eomer had to grin at the sight of an barely fourteen years old and very slender and fragile looking girl lecturing her almost two heads taller elder brother who had the build of an warrior already whilst waving her spoon in front of his face.

Her glare, as he had been told could freeze Mordor over and that she could give you a tongue-lashing worse as the old Gildween on her best days.

This was told to Eomer by some of the unfortunate recipients who had tried to get away when she was in charge of their health in her apprenticeship under the healers. Not even the hardest of his warriors dared to argue with Eofine's sister when she was mad and staid in bed instead. Secretly and only when she and Eofine were out of hearing range, they called her the spitfire of Rohan. He chuckled again. But they all came to her first when injured, what told a lot about her caring nature and her abilities too

"You will do what she says, Eofine." He told the scowling young warrior. With a nod to the healers present in the room the king turned and walked back into the dark halls of his ancestor's home with a knot of bad feelings in his stomach. On the outside, nothing seemed amiss. But inside, Eomer felt a foreboding feeling that sat not well with him. A man fell in step with the king. So silent that one could easily miss the middle aged looking man when he walked past one in the halls. He was wearing the usual attire of the warriors of the court but something was amiss and made him stand out like a torch. His skin. Or better said; the color of his skin, the eyes and the hair.

The most Rohirim, including Eomer, had blond or light brown hair but that of the stranger was black with occasionally a grey strand running through. Eomers skin was a tan but underneath you could see the same fair complexion that almost every man or woman in Rohan had, the man's was dark, almost black and his eyes were not blue, grey or green like that of the most Rohirim, they instead were almost black so dark in brown was their color.

His name was Hajji.

No other name or title added to the foreign name as that of a weapons master that he wore with pride as he did wear the double bladed staff sword that Haleth also favored. He was an easterling or better said he came from a land so far away from Rohan that it was almost unbelievable how far away it was. It was a desert country, laying further south-east as Harad even. The legendary Rhun did not even lay so far east as his homeland. Other than the easterlings nearer to Mordor, his people had never followed the Dark Lord; they kept to themselves instead and lived almost exclusively in the hot desert far beyond Rhun.

He had been forced to leave his land by the dark Lords forces and to go on to search for a safer place for the reminding of his people before the war of the ring. Well knowing that people of the east were seen with suspicion from the people living in the north and west, he still had lead his clan here in hopes to find a little place for them where they could be safer as in the east. All what the forces had left in their wake had been around three hundred people, mostly young ones or the few women who had escaped the massacres. The most warriors had found their dead while defending their retreat.

He had almost given up hope that day he had met Hama and his curios son on the grass plains. But instead of sending his men to kill them, the red haired man had looked over the poorly looking a starved group of Hajji's people and than he had given them bread, his trust and a place to live. Hajji never forgot that nor did his only living children a son and a daughter or his people.

With the time, when Eomer finally found out about them, to his utter astonishment the king had found them to be fiercely loyal to Hama and his family. Not many knew about it, but Hajji and Sajid had even fought on the fields of Gondor too. With time they had earned trust under the hardened people of Rohan and still they only took orders from the king or Haleth. The latter they often called Bej, their word for a high ranking lord under their people. Eomer only ever heard it uttered too when Hajji's people addressed Hajji or his son with it, or Eomer himself.

He had become the quit shadow of the red haired heir of Hama and his sisters children with the time and he was it too who had told him about the constant tries of their uncle to get rid of the boys. Until now, Eomers hands had been bound, so to speak, since he never could trace a deed back to the man or his sons. That had changed now.

This morning Haleth's and Eofine's uncle had come back from a trip alone in haste with his men and sons and without Haleth. The garbled words telling Eomer that Haleth had gone missing, the king believed not for a second and he had send Sajid and others immediately after the boy in hope that the well known tracker would find a trace of Hama's heir in the plains. Eomer had sentenced them all under house arrest and had begun to grill them for answers…but no one spoke. He did not want to know what would happen surely if Eofine and Freda found out that Haleth was missing! Eofine would hit his uncle's head in to get his answers, Eomer was certain and the normally friendly Ealfreda would use other means to an end…he shuddered.

And the council would not allow it, until they had facts enough that spoke against the man.

Cursing he took the route to the throne room. He could only hope that his searchers would find the boy alive or else, this would end badly. And there was still the trouble with Gondor he had to settle in the near future too.

Half a week later, in Gondor, Faramir the former steward of the city and now prince of Ithilien on the run, warded off another knife thrown at him from out of the dark of an ally just barely. Next to him Boromir helped a clearly not well looking Arwen up from where she had fallen and shielded her from another knife. The lady was clearly pregnant and held a little baby girl clutched to her bosom in her try to shield her from harm with her own body if needed.

Next to them Aragorn lay on a litter that was carried by two rangers and guarded from more that also should not be there at all. Mablung and another Ranger, that by all means, should lay resting in their graves and not running around like Boromir did it too and defend the rightfully king of Gondor from his own people! Faramir led them down an old slope near the second ring of the city that lead to the former graveyard of the upper class of Gondor's citizen's. It was the, most likely only way left for the former Royal family and the rest of their faithful to get away and maybe out of the city in one piece.

Almost all of the faithful to the king were rangers of the north and a handful of Gondor's people who still didn't believe in the lies that had lead to this hasty retreat from the city against Aragorn's wish. But the man was currently in no state to even utter a single order, that badly he had been tortured over the last four days. Another litter carried another of the former kings of Gondor, Anorion, and brother to their now new nemesis…Isildur. He was in such a bad shape that Faramir doubted it greatly that the younger son of the legendary Elendil would survive the night, not to speak of the flight that lay before them all.

He had dared to openly go against the rumors and ill will they caused under Aragorn's people and had been found days later from a patrol badly injured and obviously left to die in the middle of his killed former guard. He had been on his way to get some help and had been ambushed and from the looks of it, his attackers had even raped him and his men before they had beaten them half or fully to dead. At least, Aragorn had been spared from such an ugly fate; the man parried another attack on his person with grace and finally closed the doors of the gate to the graveyard behind him with the help of a strong Ithilien warrior.

When Legolas, Gimly and Faramir had not heard from Aragorn and Arwen in weeks both had been concerned and finally Faramir went to check on his king. A bad feeling nagging at him all the time that something was amiss. In Gondor he got the shock of his life when seeing his brother suddenly walk through the gates the same day he arrived there. Fully hale, albeit a little disorientated, still wearing the same clothes he had when leaving so long ago and completely alive!

He found out soon after that he wasn't the only one returning from the grave in the late and that two very prominent ones had done so too, one was Anorion and the other had been Isildur, just a few weeks prior. Since then, someone had spread false rumors about Aragorn's wife, Arwen, to do damage Aragorn's reputation and that of his family too. Both brothers found that out really fast and had befriended the former King of Gondor, Anorion in the following weeks. Since their minds worked much alike. The rumors consisted of old fears and superstitions of the people concerning Elf's and such and had sadly worked better as one would have thought.

Faramir promptly send a letter to Legolas in Ithilien to remove the reminding elves there and his son from Ithilien as fast as possible, fearing that they would spread and affect his land too. The son of the king of Greenwood had not waited long; two days later some 'friend' told Faramir in false good will that the elven prince had kidnapped his son. Faramir played the grieving father, and soon had fooled them all into the believing that he was no treat, meanwhile Boromir had used his entire wits together with that of his brother and a few faithful and had finally found the missing Anorion first and the missing Aragorn later. The latter in a private dungeon, badly hurt and barely conscious.

Arwen and their children had secretly been imprisoned in one of the towers and halfway starved to dead before Faramir found a way to get them out, what lead to their current flight from the city in uttermost haste. Why all thought Isildur was responsible was a simple question to answer, Anorion had in one rare moment of clarity since his ordeal told them that he suspected him and that some of his torturers had been men of his brothers personally selected guard.

He was also the one who would profit the most if Aragorn would vanish or step down from the throne.

When the darkness of the stone foundation of Gondor finally enclosed the few survivors, Faramir was none the wiser of who or what had brought his brother and the others back or of what was actually going on, but one thing was certain, the only places they could go now to, if they made it that was, were the former hidden valley of Rivendell or to Greenwood.

He did not believe that Eomer would take them in, since Gondor's new ruler had with the help of the council brought easterlings and other mean men into the Riddermark to settle there against the Rohan kings wishes in the late. What had in the end had caused much strife between Rohan and Gondor. And that all under the name of Aragorn and his wife, to mask his intentions. Dol Amroth was also out of question, since the council had cut off all correspondence to the sea country since a while. The council had wanted Arwen and her husband, the elven friend gone and a 'true' Heir on Gondor's throne. He snorted what got him his brother's attention. "What is going through your mind little brother?" Faramir weakly and tiredly waved a hand at his brother. "Just some thoughts about the council and such." He looked tiredly at the ceiling of the stony dome above them.

"We have not many choices of where to go, Boro." He told his brother solemn and found him nodding to his words. "Yes, but we have at least some! What is always better to having none, Faramir. Let's see that we get them to Rivendell, her brothers are still holding the valley and I bet my arse on it that they will not be happy when they find out what those pigs did to their little sister and brother…" He trailed off after his unusual blunt speech and wished the back of his left hand tiredly over his eyes. Then Boromir bend nearer to his beloved little brother and whispered his next words. "Rather I believe they will go to war when they learn of this, I fear. I met them once and Eladan and Elrohir of Rivendell are not the men or elves neither to be underestimated when angry nor to be trifled with! I am just glad their Father isn't here anymore or his seneschal, that Glorfindel, because if they were, Gondor would be under war in less than a fortnight."

With that both turned and walked down the path hidden in the stone that build the foundation of their home, left by the dwarfs who helped once to build Gondor in the beginning. Boromir went down to scoop the heir of Aragorn up to carry the tired Eldarion.

Not once noticing the strange slight smile on the boys face or that he clutched his upper tunic with something small hidden inside protectively to him all the time.

To reach the village had been an easy task but to find a horse was another.

Haleth found out by nightfall, when he reached the village that it was no more. They had skirted it on their way here and so not seen what had happened to it, and from the sight that greeted the horrified youth, already a while ago. Blackened and scorched houses told from a fire and everywhere were corpses but no weapons or other signs of their killers. Old, young, no one had escaped from the looks of it. He did not dare to look closer at some of the dead, fearing what he would see. Haleth had known a lots of the folks living here since his very childhood. Silent as he had come, the youth went again and he made certain to mask his trails from now on. Not knowing if any of the attackers still was near, he had to leave corpses untouched and unburied to avoid being spotted and hated it!

Outside the little valley that had held the village he tried an old trick of his people to cal wayward horses back to the owners. Maybe there had one escaped and would head the call all horses of Rohan learned when still being foals.

It was a series of whistles and for a long time they went unanswered.

Then, when Haleth had already given up hope, three horses slowly came over the soft hills surrounding the youth. All were more or less injured, one still carried a saddle from that a boot hung, lonely swinging. The young man wanted to vomit at the sight of the parts of the leg still being inside of it and after he had carefully and slowly lured them over to him; to remove the boot and leg was the first thing that he did do. One was a foal, maybe a yearling, another one was obviously a war steed, and it was the one with the saddle still on and the stallion was limping from a barely healed wound on his flank. The last one was a mare. Colored like a fox and from the looks of it, she had a lot Meara blood running through her veins.

Uncommonly tall and at the same time slender looking, she was clearly built for speed and endurance. The fine ark of her neck and even finely build ears and bones spoke of very good blood. She must be worth half of Meduselt with the appearance she had he thought and Haleth was stunned into silence from her sheer beauty and grace and loved her almost instantly like only the riders of Rohan could love their horses.

She also wore no sign of ever having born a saddle or a bridle and he wasn't wondering about it. Such mares were often left running free with the wind in Rohan and more often than not they found the eye of one of the few Meara stallions this way to bring back foals that would be worth a fortune. The king was riding such a foal of such a mare now grown into one of the finest stallions ever, an almost full blood Mearas.

To his astonishment, the mare nudged Haleth until he chose to oblige her and mounted up quickly on her bare back. His heartfelt thanks mumbled into her ears and feeling humbled that she let him onto her back. Gripping the reddish mane tightly, he took hold of the bridle of the injured stallion and whistled to the foal to follow them, and then he rode away from the place of dead as fast as he dared to press the tired horses.

The next two days he led them along the river over the plains. Caring for the stallions flank wound and the mares few scratches as well as the foals small stab wound on the way. Always wondering who had done such an ill deed to their former owners. He constantly searched for signs of the attackers but found only a few here and there. Horse walking trails that were clearly not made by Rohirim horses and one time the dried outline of a boot in the mud not common in form and build to Rohan's people but to the people of Harrad. He cursed then and made more haste to reach Meduselt.

The plains were tricky in of late. Since men of Harrad had begun to settle wildly in the Rohirim land in the last weeks so suddenly. Gondor, out of a point no one understood had opened their gates to the easterlings and allowed them to come and go in the late as they pleased, much to the anger of many of Haleth's people who had to show them out of their land later. They even pretended that Aragorn had told them to settle in Haleth's homeland…something neither, his king or the youth did believe.

Since a few weeks Gondor seem to have gone nuts and no one could reach Aragorn directly in the late to clear the confusion.

And then, there were the rumors that some of the dead had come back …Haleth shuddered. Something was going on that was so wrong that it hurt. The words of the elf came to his mind, what had he said again? We will take it all back and such…Haleth chose to take another path back to Meduselt, somehow he felt no longer safe on the old road that also lead to Gondor in one end, and to the former tower home of the wizard Saruman on the other end. The new path would take a day or two longer but he did not dare to risk it to be caught from Haradrim on his way.

A day later he was glad that he had listened to his inner feelings.

While making a round at the rim of the mountains, he could clearly see a small army lair right beside the old road. He would have run directly into them if he had followed the original path. In the distance he could make out spies that went into the direction of Gondor all the time…as if they were searching for something or someone.

End of part two


	3. Chapter 3

The Moonhorse 3

Faramir weary brushed a stray lock of his auburn hair away from his eyes.

The last four days and the weeks before had been trying to say at best. In his lap rested the small head of one of Aragorn's daughters. On his left shoulder leaned the head of another, their brother had snuggled up to his back and in his arms the man held the baby daughter of the pair. Faramir didn't mind to be used as a pillow replacement from Arwen's and Aragorn's children; too much he missed his own son all the time.

They had taken to the man like water to a river.

Fast, deeply and without any restrain. Boromir too was a usual recipient of the children's snuggle attempts to receive some comfort in the late. As his brother, he didn't mind them much. Their exhausted parents rested not far from the beleaguered friend of them who currently minded their children lovingly. The old dwarfen tunnels reached through the entire mountain behind Gondor's back. All but forgotten by a handful people and even less knowing in the beginning, they had lain unused for the most of the time since the foundation of Gondor.

Anorion had actually been the one to tell the brothers, just in case they needed a way out of the town other than the usual. Before he and his guards had ridden out to call for help for the current royal family. Now his foresight had paid off them all. All the last days they had pressed on. Boromir had been restless in his pursuit to get as much distance as possible between their group and his former home city. The group had managed, by following the instructions of Anarion; to cover more ground as before believed that they could.

Boromir's and Faramir's father had known about them but had not believed them to be in any good shape anymore to be used. He had been wrong. True, the most tunnels were out of question and beyond any usage now but the main tunnel had survived the time in a surprisingly good shape. So good in fact, that Boromir had destroyed the way back at some point to prevent others to follow them. Now all of their hope lay in moving forward and to trust that the old entry to these caverns was still open.

Boromir eased down next to Faramir tiredly only to have Eldarion fast abandon his place on Faramir's back to make himself at home in the lap of his new 'uncle'.

Faramir gave a chuckle at the sight. "Don't know what they did to raise them so." His brother groused well naturally meanwhile he awkwardly moved the boy around so that Eldarion did not have to rest directly on his cold armor. "They all are rather cuddly, don't you think so too, little brother?" He gave Faramir an amused look. The latter nodded. "Yes." He agreed in his often silent manner.

Reaching out to stir the fire before them Faramir mused calmly. "They are frightened for their uncle as they call Anarion and for their parents. So what do you expect, brother?" He gave Boromir a troubled look. Then both looked over where Aragorn and Arwen rested. He was much better since yesterday but would need a long time to recover as best as he could. And she had gained a little more weight since they traveled. Both brothers tried to make the journey as easy on the pregnant Arwen as possible.

Next to the couple lay Anarion on his bedding. Pale and still very much between life and death the former king looked not much better as before. "At least the worst of his wounds have closed now and have stopped bleeding, Fara." Boromir noted in a whisper. The younger of the two sons of Denethor nodded at that. He had noticed as much.

"Maybe there is still a hope for him, I feared for the worst. Luckily the herbs worked or else he would have met his maker for a second time already." A new voice cut in. "And we still have to find horses once we are out of here. No one of them is in any shape to travel by feet." Both shared a look with the Ranger who had spoken the last words. Mablung looked not better off as Boromir and Faramir when he sat down next to them and the now sleeping children.

"You found the doors than I take?" Faramir deducted from the short words of the older ranger who nodded. "Yes, and as you both thought, no one was there. No wonder though, they will at least need three weeks to get to the end of the tunnels whereupon we needed only a few days, taking the direct route through the stone and they need to ride around the entire mountain to reach us here. Even if they make full haste, they will need the time. At this time of the year all others are closed from snow and weather. And the road is treacherous."

The others nodded. "Aye, they will. I have ridden that route often enough in the past to know that well myself. Thank the Valar for that!" Boromir told the others whilst shifting Eldarion a little to stretch out his left leg carefully so not to wake the boy. As did Faramir did know it too, he too had ridden that route often in his youth and later. At this time of the year, early winter, the most other roads were already closed until the springtime of the next year." But we now need to cross the Riddermark without horses in this weather and I don't think that King Eomer will be happy about it that we are there. Not since the latest events in his lands." Faramir noted calmly.

All three men fell silent.

For the third time this night Haleth cursed his natural curiosity!

Those Spies from two days prior hadn't gotten out of his mind and so the youth had taken the way back to the village to then move into the other direction for the now. The stallion and the foal still followed him…and not only them in the late. Since yesterday the count of horses had risen by four more. Where they had come from, the boy had no clue but in the last morning they had suddenly been there and now the small herd followed him on the mare like they had nothing better to do!

It made it harder for the boy to keep undetected from the spies and whatever else was running around in the Mark lately.

Just what exactly did those three times cursed Easterlings search for in the Riddermark?

Besides that he wanted to confirm his suspicious that the troupe from before near the road was the same one that had killed the people of the village near the former Golden Wood. If they were, there would be a hell to pay when Eomer was told about it, Haleth was certain. Currently around seven horses and one human boy were creeping around a camp of three spies to reach the other side of the road. Surprisingly silent if one was pressed to note.

The horses that had taken to follow the boy and his three were all war steeds. Some saddled still and some looked rather wild. Haleth had noted and that they needed not much commands from him to stay silent or to follow a given path, much to his luck. The foal was another story but luckily it followed the older horses without to make much trouble through the under bushes. When he finally reached the other side, sweat had broken out on Haleth's skin and made his attire clammy and cling to his frame.

If those Easterlings had spotted him…he did not want to think about it. Those were no usual spies that much he had learned in the last days. Those men of the east were all warriors, armed to the neck and obviously experienced. He had almost to no chance to survive a fight with them without wounds not to mention that his success of avoiding them and looking for whatever they did search in the mark if he was caught was none. It was sheer luck that they had been drinking their own brew of spirits this night and so, been distracted.

Silently he mounted the mare again and made haste to get away from them.

She had not let him ride another of the stallions and mares or them near to what she had obviously decided was now 'her' human. Not that he did mind, who did not want to ride such a horse but she did belong to someone, he was sure and he could never in his wildest dreams afford such a horse until he inherited all of his father's gold.

This would lead to troubles right in the future, Haleth shook his head and set out in the grassland to find out what these men searched in his homeland.

Two days later he was still none the wisest and the number of the herd had grown by five more horses…much to his chagrin. Why suddenly every loose running horse of the Riddermark seems to flock to his strange herd was a miracle to him that made him wonder. Maybe he had wished for a horse too much in the late? He shook it off when a well known voice reached him from his left.

"Haleth" Bey! Wait."

And with that, Sajid finally found the youth after tracking him for the last almost full week. That Haleth was more near to Gondor as Meduselt was what made the man wonder.

He had tracked Haleth since he had found the youth's footprints by the river near the Golden wood by tracking back Haleth's uncles. First backwards, as he found out later in the destroyed village and then forward all the more determined then to find his young Lord. He too found the camp full of Easterlings near the road to then trace the barely there tracks of the horses to the youth in the middle of the plains directing to Gondor's mountainside. Right after sending the man who had been traveling with Sajid so far, back to Meduselt with the horrifying news to tell Eomer earlier.

Dismounting he took in the flock of horses that seem to follow his young Lord. How curios, he thought. Pointing at them he gave into his curiosity. "Why do they follow you around? Not that I mind, they covered your tracks from the Easterlings." For the first time in days Haleth gave a loud laugh. "I honestly don't know, my friend. Somehow…they grew in number?" He scratched his head whilst saying that. Slightly uncomfortable with the entire event. His friend broke out in a heartfelt laughter. "Only you, my Lord, only you!" Sajid sobered, "Why didn't you ride straight to Edoras, my Lord? We found the leftovers of…" He trailed off, seeing the grief flash shortly over the fair features of Haleth.

"I saw spies ride away in this direction all the time. They search after something or someone here and I wanted to know what or who!" Sajid looked at the mare Haleth was riding; she was a precious one indeed. Pointing at her he couldn't help but ask. "And she? Did she follow you too?" The youth gave another nervous laugh. "Looks like it." Both laughed this time. "She must have belonged to the unfortunate villagers." He said no more and turned back on his former track.

Suddenly much more silent.

His friend joined him just as silent. "They will pay for the taken lives." Haleth nodded. Four hours later, both came to a sudden stop upon a hillside.

"Just what in the name of every god I know of and the Valar of the elves too is this?" Shielding his eyes from the midday sun Haleth tried to get a better look at the sorry looking caravan of people down there in the plains of Rohan. Beside him Sajid shook his head in wonder and whistled. "This, my Lord I fear is what those pigs are searching after. And from the looks of it, I dare to say; something must be indeed very wrong in Gondor to have their King to flee in such and undignified manner! Look! They carry injured with them….and children too!" Looking at each other confused for a moment Haleth whistled to the horses and corralled them in to follow Sajid then down meanwhile the latter already rode fast down the soft hill to greed the people down there.

"Boromir! Riders of the Mark and one looks like a knight of King Eomers court to judge from the armor he wears!" Mablung gesticulated to the hill in front of the traveling group. They had pressed onwards on foot. The group need to get more space between their sure pursuers and them, it was overwhelming their need to rest. Boromir too looked at the approaching rider with trepidation. What could he tell the man? He indeed looked like one of Eomers Knights. Next to him, Faramir grinned suddenly."I know that one! That is Sajid!"

"Sa…who?" Boromir turned to his brother. "Sajid, err, a long story. And all happened after you…. Anyways, he is a friend." With that Faramir took off to greed the newcomer.

When Haleth finally reached them the horses in tow, Sajid was already engrossed into a talk between two men he had never seen before, Lord Faramir and the queen of Gondor.

Dismounting he simply took to listen in and to not say anything for the now.

"…what do you mean to say is that he took over?" Sajid looked wide-eyed at the prince of Ithilien. The latter nodded grimly."Yes! I fear he has also been the one to hand out the rumors that ended in this debacle." Faramir looked behind them at the two carriers containing the injured Aragorn and Anarion. "He also tried to starve Lady Arwen and the little ones!" The one called Boromir told Sajid with a throw of his arms in the air in his obvious frustration. "You should have seen how pitiful they looked when Mablung and I found them! If I ever get my hands on that, that sorry excuse of a son of Elendil…" Arwen stopped the tirade just in time before her curios eldest could hear more.

At that a picture flashed before Haleth's inner eyes. A man, regal looking and very tall looked at two other men that resembled him more or less with sorrow. One looked at a strange ring with the look of one possessed while the other seemed to be hunted by the shadows of the wraiths of Sauron. He gave a shudder and was back in the real world. His line of sight ended on one of the injured men. With horror he took in the battered face; it was the one hunted by the shadows.

"…through the entire mountain? Was there no other way?" The one called Boromir shook his head. "Sadly, no. it was the only way out. To think that we had to flee the very city we once have sworn to protect…" Boromir shook his head with a grimace. "We had no chance or any other option my friend. What do you think will King Eomer do and just who is that?" Asked Faramir.

This moment Sajid seem to remember Haleth and turned around to him.

Waving the youth over, he introduced him to the others. "My Lords, this is Lord Haleth, son of Hama, currently the head of the house of fire of Rohan and my Lord. This is a long story why we are here, forgive me, I kind of forgot for a moment." The last was stated at the red haired young man behind him with a bow. Haleth regarded the others as warily as they regarded him.

When his eyes settled on the Queen he thought to himself that this wasn't exactly how he had pictured it in his mind to meet her to give her the package that he still carried with him!

"How much longer until we reach Edoras, Breos of the Mark?" The warrior who was spoken too turned his steed nearer to that of the King, right through the group of heavily armed Greenwood warriors that surrounded Thranduil. "Not much, my Lord. We should reach it in a nick of time, maybe two hours from here." The woodland King nodded and rode on silently. The Marshal followed him just as silent in a respectful distance. He was still trying to recover from it that he was actually really leading the famous King of the woodland realm to the Hall of Meduselt. Trying to shake of his awe he was glad that these warriors weren't his enemies, for they and their King looked rather fierce in their anger.

Meanwhile in Meduselt everyone was in a flurry of movements to get the hall ready for an unexpected guest. Legolas had reached Eomer just a few hours prior to warn him in time that his father had chosen to meet him and to inform him of what he knew of what was happening in Gondor at the moment.

"And it is certain that they have driven Aragorn to flee? Impossible! The gall of that cursed man! And Boromir is alive again too? Truly?" He thundered. Next to him, Legolas cringed at the sheer volume of the surprised King's voice. Not that he had thought the King to react differently. Long enough he was a friend now to Eomer. And the news he had brought excused easily his reaction. A short while before he had reached the Hall, another messenger had reached it. Fully exhausted and ready to fall out of his saddle at any moment.

The man had told Eomer about what he and Sajid had found out near the former Golden Wood and Easterlings camping next to the road leading to Gondor.

To his horror, Eomer now had to ready his people for a possible invasion from the looks of it, as well as for war! And his best ally had just turned into one of his foes…no, that wasn't right. Aragorn hadn't turned his back on him, but he was currently fleeing from the one that had orchestrated the confusion as it looked.

"This is soo wrong that I actually lack the words to describe it, Legolas!" He told the Prince when Eomer recovered a little from his shock. Not to mention that Eofine had reacted just as expected and literally beaten the shit out of his uncle to gain information's…not that Eomer longer cared. The man had more than deserved it as it turned out. Eomer had needed six warriors to keep the young man in check. Currently Eofine was ordered to muck out the stalls, not to punish him but to keep him busy and away from the dungeon.

Right at the moment the now prisoners of Eomer recovered from a sudden and very bad case of stomach flu that had practically chained them to the lavatories for the past two days.

He shuddered. Ealfreda's work no doubt on that. She was as bad as his sister in these matters.

Along with the sudden pustules that all of them sported since this morning and were driving her uncle and followers insane from the itching since they had appeared, Eomer was sure. She would have poisoned them if he wouldn't have forbidden her to do so directly.

And speaking of Eowyn, she was currently hunting down every possible spy inside his ranks and Eomer was once more glad that she and Faramir had broken off their marriage a few years prior. He turned to the elf that walked silently next to the fuming and scheming King of Rohan. "What is with my nephew? Will your royal father bring him too?" Legolas softly shook his head. "No, I think not. We both found it safer to leave the boy with my sister and my brothers in Greenwood. But rest at peace my Lord; my family has taken a great likening in the boy." He laid one hand on Eomer's shoulder. "He will be safe there. I promise, and have already told so to his Lady mother too." Wearily Eomer rubbed his eyes before he gave a pat on the hand of his friend and turned to stride into the great hall.

Later in the same night as Thranduil finally reached Edoras with his host of warriors, a large group of white ships silently reached the hushed and abandoned havens that faced the shores of Aman far in the west. Once the ships had docked, a lone rider onto an impressive white stallion was dispatched into the direction of Rivendell far in the east of the Grey Havens in haste and later a lot others also leaved the now busy looking town in several different directions.

The next morning greeted a wryly grinning Haleth, Boromir and Arwen with again new horses added to his little herd. The guards had noticed them coming right out of the night around them in the early morning hours and had watched amused the horses trot straight over to the red haired young man to simply stay near him then until he woke up from the laughter of Sajid and Boromir.

"Maybe we should rename you into The Horse caller, my Lord. " Sajid joked at seeing Haleth's wry grin. "Yes, one would think they are in love with him." Boromir added with barely suppressing his own mirth. The young warrior shot both jokers a mock glare before he bend to examine the hooves of the horse right in front of him as he always did when he saw a new horse. He always checked for possible injuries first. And the legs were prone to them more than the rest he had found out after a while. Many horses lost the iron shoes in the wild, if they ever got them from the smiths.

Finding none on all four he checked the horse over before directing it to Sajid to put on a makeshift saddle for the horse for it to carry a rider.

"This one has iron shoes and seems in good condition, I think it could easily bear the heavy Boromir, what do you think, Sajid?" Grinning the young man waited for the exclamation that sure was to follow from the tall Gondorian and he wasn't waiting in vain.

"Eh? I am not heavy you imp! I just happen to carry a heavy armor, and what is that grin for, hm? Faramir! Your new friend is telling others I weight too much!" Boromir took on the teasing of the younger man. "Well, he does have a point here, Boro. You sure look like you have eaten a little too much lately…" The elder of the two brothers sputtered for a moment before he broke out into a booming laugh and began to chase Faramir around said horse that calmly chewed on a bunch of grass. Around them the most others laughed too, just a few did just grin at the scene. One who grinned was a newly awake Aragorn since the morning.

He still had trouble to laugh or to do much else as to lie and recover, too weak was he to begin with.

They had built two travois like carriages to transport him and Anarion upon them. The children would ride in front of the rangers and others. Now as it looked, they even had enough horses to give the most of the few people each an own horse. What was fortunate since they would have to make haste this day to get away from the spies looking for their group. And only a few had experience in riding bareback without a saddle and bridle, like Sajid, Lady Arwen and Haleth.

"We will have to make it to the lake today in order to avoid them as long as possible, Lord Boromir." Haleth told the tall warrior he already liked much when Boromir came to stand near to him again. Curiously watching the young man wrap one leg of a mare for protection up with Sajid holding the a little nervous horse, Boromir gave a whistle. "That wrap looks more like a compression as a protection wrap." The young man nodded. "It is. She favors her leg a little, most likely a misstep has strained a muscle since I found no sprain or equally dangerous damage." He finished the wrapping up and set the hoof carefully back down before rising slowly to put a cloth over the back of the mare. "This will help her to step easier. She will have to carry one of the carriages of the injured. It would be too bad for her to carry a rider. This way she will have not so much weight put directly on her back and the hoof and more leverage to pull the carriage." He gave her a final pat on the neck before Sajid finished to close the belt under the mare's belly.

Turning the young man began to walk over were Anarion still lay without a movement on his transport carriage.

Kneeling next to it Haleth checked a last time the binds that held the sleeping man on the makeshift cart. They had worked on them the entire night, using some of the small trees near the hillside. "You know, I saw this one and another two in a vision yesterday when you spoke of them. He was the one who was hunted by Ring-wraiths in my dream." He fell silent to wrap the man tighter into the blanked upon his prone form before rising and turning to fix his stare to Boromir's surprised one. "Since I was a child I…sometimes see things. This vision was most strange. There was this older man in armor with the tree of Gondor on the front. He looked a lot like the two younger, he stared at them with sorrow in the eyes, and half of him lay in the shadows. The other looked like a possessed man at a small golden ring in his hands and the third you know." He shook his head.

"Was there something else you saw?" Boromir had fallen uncharacteristically silent at the admission of the young Lord. Haleth shook his head again. "No, not that I remember. But the Wraiths trouble me." He told the man in a calm voice. What made Boromir shudder slightly." I don't know what to make of them, since they are supposed to have vanished with their foul Lord years past. But since even the death came back, as you prove so well….I cannot help to ask myself the same questions all the time." Haleth secured his leather helmet under his chin and bend to take his small pack to secure it onto the back of his mare that he had , in silence, begun to call, Ruscondil. What meant Fox friend in elvish as far as he knew it and seem to fit the mare perfectly. Since she was uncommonly sly and colored like one.

"What questions, Haleth?" It was Faramir who had come over and who asked Haleth this in an equally calm voice.

The young man didn't answer right away. First he slipped onto Ruscondil's back. Straightening he gave both brothers a pensive stare than he shrugged. Patting her neck he finally murmured.

"If Boromir and Anarion came back, why shouldn't other creatures do so too? And if I am right, than whom exactly will we have to face in the future and when did they come back to live and how?" He gave both again a worried glance.

"And finally, what the hell is going on here that brings death people and maybe else back from beyond the cycles of the world and why?"

End of chapter three.


End file.
